1951-1954 carver_washington banner

1951-1954 Carver/Washington Half Dollar

 

 1952 Carver Washington Obverse       1952 Carver Washington Reverse
 

Click the images above for enhanced view.

Purpose:

 

To commemorate the lives of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver and “to oppose the spread of Communism among Negroes, in the interest of the national defense.”

 

Maximum Number Authorized: 3,415,631

 

Sale Price: $10.00 per set of 3 coins. Individual coins were offered at $5.50 each.

 

Designs:

 

    Obverse – Isaac Scott Hathaway

Busts of George Washington Carver and Booker Taliaferro Washington. Their names and the coin’s denomination surround the images.

 

Online Resource: 

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/george-washington-carver

https://www.biography.com/activist/booker-t-washington

 

   Reverse – Isaac Scott Hathaway

A map of the United States. “U.S.A” is superimposed on the map. “FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL” and “AMERICANISM” separated by two stars surround the map. 

 

Popularity:

 

2,458,000 half dollars were struck and offered for sale to the public. 1,320,802 were sold leaving 1,137,198 returned to the Mint for melting. 

 

Trivia:

 

  • The design of the United States on the reverse is missing a portion of Maryland and all of Delaware.

  • In 1894, George Washington Carver became the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree.

  • Carver developed more than 300 food, industrial and commercial products from peanuts.

  • Carver had an extremely high-pitched voice as an adult.

  • Booker T. Washington had a close relationship with Carver and recruited him to work at Tuskegee Institute. They are buried close to one another on the grounds of Tuskegee.

  • This coin is the last of the classic commemorative series. No more US. commemorative coins were produced until 1982.

 

For more information:

 

Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States by Anthony J. Swiatek 

KWS Publishers (2012)

 

Commemorative Coins of the United States Identification and Price Guide by Anthony J. Swiatek

Amos Press Publishers (2001)

 

George Washington Carver: A Life by Christina Vella

LSU Press (2015)

 

References:

 

Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States by Anthony J. Swiatek

KWS Publishers (2012)

 

The Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins 1892 to 1954 by Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen

 

Arco Publishing, Inc. (1981)

 

 

 
Return to top